Robin Britt to Receive Early Childhood Award

Robin Britt to Receive James & Carolyn Hunt Early Childhood Award

Guilford Child Development’s Executive Director is Recognized after 20+ years of service

Robin Britt, Executive Director of Guilford Child Development

Chapel Hill, N.C., February 11, 2019: Child Care Services Association (CCSA) is excited to announce Robin Britt as the recipient of the 2019 James and Carolyn Hunt Early Childhood Award.

CCSA established the Hunt Early Childhood Award in 1995 with Governor Jim Hunt as its first recipient. It was named for the North Carolina Governor and First Lady in recognition of their efforts to improve early care and education for our youngest citizens. Since then, thirteen winners have been selected for their outstanding service on behalf of young children in North Carolina. CCSA’s president and the board of directors appoints a committee to select the recipient of the award.

“I am honored to be given the James and Carolyn Hunt Early Childhood Award,” Britt said. “I worked closely with Governor Hunt when I was secretary of what is now the NC Department of Health and Human Services, and receiving this award means a great deal. In my mind, preparing young children and their families for educational success and success in life is the most important work we can do in our community and our state; being recognized for that work is extremely humbling.”

Robin Britt is the executive director at Guilford Child Development (GCD), an agency with six programs dedicated to helping young children and families reach their full potential. He has worked for GCD for 20 years, serving over 18,000 children through the organization’s Head Start/Early Head Start program during that time. Britt is also responsible for growing GCD’s budget from $9 million to $23 million through fundraising efforts. He accepted the job at GCD shortly after serving in the House of Representative from 1983 to 1989, and was Secretary of what is now the NC Department of Health and Human Services. It was announced last year that Britt plans to retire from GCD in October 2019.

“We are grateful to have such a committed leader like Robin Britt dedicate more than thirty years of his life helping the young children and families of North Carolina,” said Marsha Basloe, President of CCSA. “In fact, Robin has been a supportive partner for so many of our early childhood efforts including a sponsor of the T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood Scholarship Program. It is a wonderful time to recognize Britt with the James and Carolyn Hunt Early Childhood Award.”

The Hunt Award will be presented to Britt during CCSA’s 45th Anniversary Celebration on April 5 at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel at 6:00 p.m. The celebration will include a dinner and a silent auction to not only bring awareness to the early childhood educators, children and families CCSA serves, but also provide support for the agency’s infrastructure to continue to support CCSA’s many programs assisting all of North Carolina for the next 45 years. The keynote speaker is Executive Director of the Early Childhood Funders Collaborative (ECFC), Shannon Rudisill.

Founded in 1974, Child Care Services Association’s mission is to ensure affordable, accessible, high-quality child care for all young children and their families. Using a holistic approach, CCSA supports children and families, helps child care professionals improve the quality of early education children receive and ensures that all families can afford and access the high-quality early care and education that is so important for a child’s early development.

Through its Meal Services Program, CCSA also provides nutritious meals to children at child care centers, where they may eat 50-100 percent of their meals. Our T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood®, Child Care WAGE$® and Infant-Toddler Educator AWARD$® programs give child care professionals the means to obtain an education and supplement their salary based that education. CCSA also licenses T.E.A.C.H. and WAGE$ across the U.S. and conducts early childhood systems research and policy development statewide and nationally. For more information, visit www.childcareservices.org.

About Guilford Child Development:

Guilford Child Development (GDC) was founded in 1967 by a group of community organizations all coming together with the mission of helping young children and families reach their full potential. Over the years, GDC has created six programs to serve Guilford County: Head Start/Early Head Start, Regional Child Care Resources & Referral, Catering for Kids, Nurse-Family Partnership, Learning Together Family Literacy Program, and the Family Success Center. Currently, they serve more than 6,000 children and families annually through these programs. Guilford Child Development is also the lead agency for the United Way’s Family Success Center pilot program where adults can work on obtaining their GEDs while their children get preschool care. For more information, visit www.guilfordchilddev.org.